The Minister of State received in audience at his office, Dr. Elizabeth I. Quansah, Ph.D., MBA – Director of the Outreach Global Program at Auburn University in Alabama, as well as his colleague, Dr. Lakami Baker – Associate Professor from the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship.

The two American professors paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State, following the training session called STEP – “Success Through Entrepreneurship Program” which was co-organized with CEPED and a local partner, ICA. The hearing took place in the presence of Mr. YACOUBOU Amadou and Mr. TOHOUNDJO Roger Antoine respectively Deputy Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of State and Director of the Center for Partnership and Expertise for Sustainable Development.

The STEP program focuses on delivering entrepreneurial training based on the lean startup methodology to help young people, women and students in Benin acquire essential entrepreneurial skills. These skills include:

• the design of effective value propositions,
• creating scalable business models and
• business skills development focused on finance, marketing, communication, public speaking and business management.

Participants were able to engage in problem solving, idea generation and public speaking activities. The instructors also provided training to community leaders, sharing best practices from across the United States to support the sustainability of their respective community service programs.

The courses present a step-by-step strategic roadmap for launching a viable business capable of effectively bringing innovative products and ideas to its market.

The learners, numbering 120 people from the 12 departments of Benin, were able to acquire the entrepreneurial skills necessary to design effective value propositions, scalable business models and fundamental business skills in finance, marketing, communication, public speaking. public and management.

At the end of the training, the CePED hopes to contribute, through entrepreneurship, to providing the cohort of young people of this 2023 session with an in-depth understanding of the know-how and know-how in terms of creation, marketing and sale of products that meet the expectations of Beninese customers.

After diligently completing all course requirements, learners received a Certificate of Completion from the course, issued by Auburn University's Global Outreach Department in Alabama.

The enthusiasm created by this training was perceptible with the young learners who called for the organization of future sessions not only for other young people but also in continuing education for those who have already followed the training once.

This is a sign that the partnership between CePED and Auburn University, born under the impetus of Minister of State Abdoulaye BIO TCHANE, still has great pages to write.